Bur extractor for unginned or seed cotton



May 26, 1953 A. 'r. MOSELEY BUR EXTRACTOR FOR UNGINNED OR SEED COTTON Filed Jan. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l ilullln \I in n! INVENTOR.

A. T. MOSELEY BUR EXTRACTOR FOR UNGINNED OR SEED COTTON May 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.

INVENTOR. A/exana er TMQse e v Patented May 26, 1953 BUR EXTRACTOR ro a UN'G'INNED 0R SEED oo'r'ron Alexander 1. Moseley, Dallas, Tex.

Application January 10, 1949, Serial No. 70,038

18Claims. 1 This invention relates to new and useful immovements in bur extractors for unginned or seed'cotton.

One object of the invention is to'pr'ovidean improved bur extractor for seed cotton which employs astream of air, either blast or suction or'both, incombinationwith a saw cylinder "or carding cloth cylinder or carding clothbelt, or other similar device for the separation of bur and foreign matter from the seed cotton.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bur extractor for seed cotton and the like in which numerous and repeated separating steps are carried out in order to separate thoroughly the bur from the seed cotton.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved bur extractor for cotton in which the cotton and burs are drawn directly into the extractor by an air stream in pla'ceof delivery from an outside air separator as is'now customarily employed.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved bur extractor for seed cotton and the like in which an'initial separation of the burs and the cotton is made by means of a saw or other similar structure, and in which the cotton passing through the machine along with the separated burs is reclaimed by collection upon a screen cylinder from which the burs are removed and which passes in close proximity to the saw cylinder or other similar elements'whereby such cotton is reclaimed by being picked up by the saw cylinder and again passed through the separating steps.

Apertinent object of the invention is to provide an improved bur extractor for seed cotton and the like in which air currents are used to a considerable extent for separating the burs from the cotton, and in which said air currents are controlled by the employing of :both blast and suction fans forming a part of the machine.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. l is a schematic, transverse, vertical, sec tional view of a bur extractor constructed in accordance with this invention, and

Figs. 2 through .7 are longitudinal sectional views taken along the planes indicated by the respective lines of Fig. l.

2 In the drawings, the numeral It designates a hollow, generally rectangular -roll box within which asuitable toothed cylinder, saw cylinder,

carding cloth cylinder, or other similar device 'I I is disposed for rotation. The cylinder H carries suitable gaskets or packing material I2 at each end ('Fig. 5) to provide an air sealbetween the ends of said cylinder and the end walls of the r611 box l0.

feeding-and closes on the chute to revent the entry of air therethrough. A suitable screen sur face 18 projects downwardly at an angle from thebottom side of thepl-ate ll toward the right handsid'eof'the feed box ['3 and has its lower edge disposed substantially in vertical alignment with the axis of the spiked roller (4. Thus,

cotton and burs being fed into the box l3 between the rollers I6, are allowed to fall onto the spiked roller when the plate i 7 is removed, or the chute maybe closed off by'replacement of said plate. The cotton will'be fed to the rolls I'Bby gravity, and will fall onto the spiked drum l4 bygravity and by meansof air suction to be described hereinafter.

An air'suction inlet duct lsextends into the left hand-side of "the box I 3 in a horizontal plane with its horizontal center substantially tangentially disposed with respect to the drum M, and

has its lower wall-merging into a downwardly inclined chute plate 20 which extends from the left hand portion of the box it! to a point adja- "cent to the upper portion of the saw cylinder 1 l.

A foraminous or screen surface 2! extends horizontally' into the feed box l3 from the upper end of the chute "plate 20 and has its inner edge spaced a short distance fromthe left hand portion of the peripheryxofthe spiked drum it. A spreader conveyor 22 is disposed horizontally within the upper left hand portion ofthe box l3 between itheinlet'duct l9 and the screen 18, and. overlies'the'inner edge of the screen surface 2!. The conveyor '22 is thus positioned in the mouth of the inlet duct i i! and substantially closes the same. 'With this alternative inlet, the incoming: cotton may be fed directly into "the machine through the duct I9 by means of an air blast or air suction, and will be received by the conveyor 22 and spread uniformly over the width of the feeder box I3 so as to pass onto the spiked drum I I in a substantially uniform bat or layer. The screen 2 I permits the air to pass unhindered from the inlet duct I9, and largely separates the air from the cotton and causes the cotton to be fed gently into the spreading conveyor 22. At the same time, the screen I8 prevents cotton passing over the top of the drum I4.

A breaker bar 23 is positioned immediately below the inward edge of the screen surface 2| and carries a plurality of laterally extending breaker fingers 24 adapted to mesh with the fingers 25 of the spiked drum l4. An adjustable lever 26 is mounted upon one end of the bar 23 to permit swinging of the fingers 24 in a vertical are whereby their clearance with respect to the fingers 25 may be adjusted.

Whether the incoming cotton is fed in through the chute I or duct I9, it will be picked up by air currents and by the drum I4 which rotates in a counterclockwise direction, and forced to pass over the breaker fingers 24 of the bar 23. The meshing of the fingers 25 and the fingers 24 will result in breaking of the burrs and bolls as they pass through this space, and the cotton will be placed in ideal condition for further separation of the foreign matter therefrom. In drawing the cotton in by air, the air passes both over and under the spiked drum. The cotton is stopped by the inclined screen I8 above the drum and falls on the drum.

As shown in Fig. 1, the outer extremities of the fingers 25 of the drum I4 pass in an arc contiguous to the periphery of the saw cylinder II at the upper side or surface of said cylinder. A doifer or stripper blade 21 is positioned horizontally within the extractor and extends from the left hand upper portion of the roll box III to a point substantially in vertical alignment with the axes of the saw cylinder and the drum I4. The inner edge of the knife 2'! is thus positioned between the drum I4 and the saw cylinder at their point of closest approach. The inclined chute plate 20 merges into the upper surface of the blade 2? approximately at its medial portion, and the cotton which has passed between the breaker fingers 24 and 25 is thus caused to flow onto the upper surface of the blade 21 and is moved by means of air currents and by the rotation of the drum I4 to the inner edge of said knife. The saw cylinder I I rotates in a counterclockwise direction and has its teeth 28 facing in this direction. Therefore, as the cotton passes over the inner edge of the knife 21, it is picked up in small tufts by the teeth 28 and moved beneath the knife 21 and to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. The inner edge of the knife thus serves as a doffer or stripper and holds back or removes the burs and bolls, and other trash, which may be present among the cotton fibers. However, the major portion of the separation of the trash at this point takes place by means of an air blast and suction passing beneath the blade 21 and to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, the air blast flowing from a nozzle 29 formed by the left hand portion of the blade 21 and a plate 30 which projects upwardly at an angle from beneath the blade 2'1. The plate 30 underlies the left hand portion of the knife 21 and has its upper right hand edge positioned adjacent the underside of the medial portion of said knife blade. This close positioning of the edge of the plate to the knife forms the nozzle 29. An air chamber 3| merges into the left hand edges of the knife 21 and the plate 30, and is supplied with air under pressure from a suitable fan 32 which is connected to the chamber 3| through a duct 33. The fan thus causes an air blast to flow through the nozzle 29 and in a thin sheet over the underside of the knife 2'! and above the upper surface of the saw cylinder II. The tufts of cotton which have been picked by the saw teeth 28 are securley held thereby and may pass through this air blast as the saw cylinder rotates in a counterclockwise direction. However, the trash, burs and bolls which may be present in the cotton being fed into the machine, are not securely held by the saw teeth, and are blown by the blast of air from the surface of the saw cylinder and into the upper right hand portion of the roll box I0.

It is to be noted that the bat or layer of cotton being fed into the roll box by the drum I4 is not immediately disposed of by being picked up by the saw cylinder 28 as soon as it passes over the edge of the knife 21. The blast of air from the fan 32, and also a suction air current to be described hereinafter, will tend to move the cotton to the right while the saw cylinder tends to move it to the left, and the mass of cotton will thus form into an elongate roll disposed within the upper right hand portion of the roll box and lying tangential to the upper right hand portion of the saw cylinder II. As the roll rotates, the teeth 28 pick up the tufts of cotton as explained hereinbefore, and it is at this point that the stripper knife 27 achieves its most efficacious action and at which the blast of air from the fan 32 augmented by a suction of air performs a major portion of its dirt and trash separating function.

The cotton is thus continuously being fed into the roll which has been formed in the roll box and is being removed therefrom by the saw cylinder II with the trash being constantly rejected by the blade 21 and the blasts of air from the fan 32, and suction of air whereby the accumulated trash is left free to pass downwardly over the right hand side or surface of the saw cylinder.

A hopper 34 is formed in the bottom of the roll box I 0, and a suction air duct 35 is connected thereinto. A suitable suction fan 36 causes a stream of air of considerable magnitude to be drawn through the duct 35, and thus places a suction upon the hopper and upon the lower portion of the roll box I0. An auxiliary duct 31 runs from the duct 35 to the upper right hand Wall of the roll box and communicates with the interior of the roll box through a vertical screen and opening 38 positioned in the right hand wall of the box near its upper end. As shown in Fig. 1, the screened opening 38 is adjacent the roll of cotton which accumulates above and to the right of the saw cylinder I I, and with this structure means is provided for removing considerable quantities of the fine dirt and trash which may be present in the cotton. This dirt is drawn through the screened opening 38 and the duct 31, and exhausted through the duct 35 and the fan 36. The opening 38 also permits an air suction to be directed upon the roll of cotton in the upper portion of the roll box to augment the blast of air coming from the nozzle 29. This latter is probably the more important function of the screened opening 38.

The trash or foreign matter and the small amount of cotton which remains within the roll box falls upon a pivoted fin'gr board M 'which is positioned inwardly of the screened opening 88 andmay be adjusted "throi-l'gh 'asiiitable lever fl. The finger board 39 projects downwardly at angle toward the 1 saw cylinder ano' thus directs the trash and cotton o'nto the suffaceoisaid cylinder. At'this 'poinasome additional cotton will be picked up by the teethzt or'tliesaw eynnder while the trash-and burs 'wil ass onwardly due to the tw'o currents i of air set n!) b'y the ifa'ns 32 911636. I

It is well to point out at this juncture the effect givenby the use or both a-pre'ssure or bla'st fan anda'suotion fan. whe'temieneyofai "urrents is' to' fiow as directly aspossible from an inlet to i a: suction ran, and thu's tlie f 3 6 will have a tendency to drawia cur'rcntof "ir in 'close proximit to "the periphery of thesaw cylinderfrem the points of air inlet, namely th'e duct 19 thenozzle 2.9. This current of air set upbythe fan will hug the surface "of thesaw'cylinde'r, and if'iit were used byitself would' tend to pull the material being cl'eaned and separated too closely 1 into l'the saw cylinder.

The blast of air flowing through the' noz zle as from the Ifan 32 has vjustithe opposite efl eot and tends to travel in a straight line itans;ential"to the upper surface of the' saw cylinder. This "our renter air tends to move awayi'fromithe periphery of the saw cylinder'rather than toward it, and if used alone, would result in 1a withholding of the cotton fromthetee'th fli of the 'saw"cylinder so thatsaidicottonicould not be pickedup thereby. However, "by nsingbothrfans, each extreme maybe avoided andi thexcotton andlltrash'caused to now in *a iuniformiiashiondownwardly" between the right handportion or-surface or thesaw cylinder an'clthefrightlhand fwall of th'e troll box to. The cotton is "given an ample opportunity tobe picked 'up Tby the' teeth of'th'e' saw cylinder, but the trash is "not iforcefully rheld in contact with the cylinder by reason "of ithe fair curr'ehts created. YI'he'se air currents ifollow the-"contour of the says/cylinderbutfdonotlpress closely thereagainst. Either air iblast or air lsuction' may be used alone, but from "the roregoin' it is obv'ious that the best results are obtained w-hen"theitwo are used together.

With this air system,the entire -space between the right hand walloi th'e 'roll 'box IO- 'an'cl the saw cylinder is 'nlled with a swirlingm-ass of trash and cotton, and as the cotton comes into contact with the saw cylinder, it"isxpicked up-by the teeth as and held thereby against subsequent dislodgement by the air currents which'are fiowing. However, the trash and burs are repeatedly blown from the saw cylinder andpa'ss on'downwardly through the machine.

A plurality or sets of needles or'spikes M are positioned adjacent the right hand side of the saw cylinder I I, these needles extending in horizontal rows across the machine parallel to the saw cylinder, andb'eing directed downwardly at an angle toward the surface of said cylinder. With this structure, as the mass of -'trash and cotton passes downwardly through the -machine, it isrepeatedly directed toward the surface of the saw cylinder whereby'the cottonmay be picked up by the teeth 2 B while'the trash is lolownon wardly bymeans of the-air currents which have been created. For the purpose of emphasizing this'clirecting toward the surface of thesaw cylinder, the needles or spikes 41 are preferably mounted upon "an arcuate supporting plate '42 which extends in a substantlallyvertical fashion 6. adjacent the'inner surface of the right handwall of thehox to "and gradually curves inwardly toward the underside of the saw cylinder. The arciiate pa'th "ofth'e trash and cotton around the saw cylinder is "thusmaintained without the mass or material being-urged into too closeengagement with said cylinder.

For the purpose or segregating the right and left hand sides of the'hop'pe'r "schemes of the roll box In, a sealing "brush s2 engages the lower surface 'of the saw cylinder'at a point slightly to the left of 'the'vertical axis of said cylinder and carries al'lringed depending plate 43 which proj'e'cts downwardlyto the left at an angle and rests upon the upper surface of a rotating cylindrical hrush "M with suitable-sealing material at ea'chfiend The bru'sh M is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis at the bottomof the hopperlt l and to th'e left thereof, as shown in Fig. l. The brush irormsan air seal "an-dprevents the passage 'ofair between the left andright portions of the hopper bottom, and at'tlle same time, because of its counterclockwise rotation, willcon vey dirt and trash from said left hand portion of the hopper bottom :to the right hand portion thereof. The downwardly flowing air currents are thusr'estricted to the right hand portion of the hopper bottom- 3'11.

The mass'oi bur-sand trash, and whatever cotton may remain, ."passcdownward1y from the fingel-s l-i overa fan'typefiraker le-and onto the surface or cylindrical screen drum '45 positioned immediately beneath the-"saw 'cy1il1'de'r l l The'screened cylinder or drum it is mounted for rotation about a horizo'ntal axis parallel to and in vertical ali-gnmentwith the axis of thesaw cylinder and its pheriphery passes into close proximity to the-saw teeth ZS-at the bottom of said saw cylinder. An internal fan 4'! is provided within the cylinder i5 and functions to draw air in'tothe cylinder and exhaust it from the under side thereof. Thus, the cotton and trash are drawn on'to'th'e surface ofthe screen cylinder-i5, and as the same rotates in a counterclockwise direction-moves into the very smallspa'ce between the upper side of s'aid cylinder andtlie lower side ofthe saw cylinder. nt this point, the 'remaining cotton is picked upby thesavv teeth 23 and carried Upwardly thereby, while the trash and burs accumulate in'a rolldisposedfto the right of the juncture between the screened drum i i and the saw cylinder 1 l. The fan type raker i5-engages this trash as it accumulates, and'by reason of its counterclockwise rotation throws said trash downwardly'in to the lowerportion of the hopper bottom 34. Fitth'e sametilne the action of the blades o'fthe raker' moving downwardly adjacent the upwardly moving blades of the fan M partially'exha'usts air-from between the latter blades just before they come into the path of the downwardly moving streamer cotton and foreign matter. In this manner, the suction "eiieot'through the screened drum '46 is achieved and exhausting outwardly through the bottom portion of the drum 8-6 is maintained.

From the bottom of the hopper, the fine trash willbewithdrawn through the duct 35, while the heavy "trash is moved outwardly along the bottom of the hopper by the usual type of screw conveyor "48.

' The cotton reolain'iing "structure constituted bythe screen drum *46 and the fan type raker '45 represent an extremely important feature 'oi'this invention, and it is "obvious that this "structure may'well-be employed with many types of cotton cleaning and processing equpipment. It functions as a last and final means for recovering the ultimate percentage of cotton and for minimizing the quantity of such cotton that is lost with the trash which has been removed.

The cotton which is picked up by the teeth 28 of the saw cylinder H has had substantially all of the foreign matter removed therefrom, and certainly all large particles of trash such as burs, bolls, and the like, have been removed by the repeated subjection of the mass of material to the air currents passing through the machine and by the stripping action of the blade 21. The cotton is carried by the teeth 28 to the left hand side of the saw cylinder and there is removed by the usual type of dofling brush 49 which is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis parallel to the axis of the saw cylinder and to the left thereof as viewed in Fig. 1. The surface of the dofling brush rotates in engagement with the periphery of the saw cylinder and at a higher peripheral speed whereby the cotton is wiped from the saw teeth 28 and carried along with the dofiing brush in the course of its rotation. It is desirable to clean the cotton slightly further at this point and to remove any fine material which may yet remain therein. For this purpose, a plurality of horizontal rows of picker fingers or needles 50 are arranged in an arc beneath the doffing brush and projecting upwardly at an angle with respect thereto. These fingers have their upper ends barely clearing the periphery of the brush and repeatedly agitate and beat the cotton as it is carried thereover by said brush. With this structure, the fine particles of dirt and trash are knocked and beaten loose and are thrown outwardly and downwardly by the brush into the left hand portion of the hopper bottom 34. As the trash falls into the bottom of this portion it is picked up by the sealing brush 44 and moved into the right hand portion of the hopper bottom, from which it is withdrawn by the conveyor 48 or the fan 36. The cotton passes onwardly with the brush 49 and is thrown outwardly therefrom at the left hand Wall of the roll box It], the cotton passing through an opening 5| into a cotton discharge chute 52. Prior to reaching the opening 5|, the cotton is held upon the brush 49 by means of the fingers 50 which comb and beat the cotton in its peripheral passage to remove the dirt therefrom. A screened opening 53 is provided in the left hand wall of the roll box I immediately above the opening so that a suctionof air may flow inwardly through the opening 53 to fan 36 and augment the blast of air passing between the stripper knife 21 and the saw cylinder II.

If desirable, either or both of the sets of fingers 4| and 50 may be made adjustable to increase or decrease their clearance with respect to the saw cylinder H and the dofiing brush 49, so that the cleaning and beating action of said teeth or fingers may be regulated to the desired degree. This characteristic extends throughout the machine, all of the various drums, brushes and cylinders being adjustable upon their axes to regulate their clearance with respect to or spacing from the various other elements of the machine.

The apparatus may arbitrarily be divided into a cleaning section which includes the saw cylinder, the nozzle 29, the suction screen 38, the cleaning fingers 4| and 50, and the dofling brush 49. The cotton reclaiming portion of the device, as previously recited, includes the screen cylinder 46 and the fan type raker 45. Either portion may be used alone, but it is obvious that the optimum results are obtained when both are used in conjunction so that the utmost in the cleaning of the cotton is achieved with little or no loss of cotton with the removed trash.

The uncleaned cotton may be fed inwardly, as previously pointed out, between the feed rollers l6 so as to pass over the screen I8 onto the spiked cylinder or drum l4. In this case, the cotton is spread into a fairly uniform bat by the action of the feed rollers and is carried over the top of the drum l4 into proximity with the spreader conveyor 22 which further spreads the cotton intoa more uniform bat before it is acted upon by the intermeshing of the fingers 24 and 25.

In a similar fashion, cotton fed in through the duct I9 is screened over the foraminous surface 2! and spread into a uniform bat by the conveyor 22 from which it passes into engagement with the fingers 24 between which the fingers 25 rotate. The chief advantage in using the duct [9 is that cotton may be picked up by suction directly from a vehicle or from storage and carried without delay into this bur extracting machine without requiring additional storage or handling or extensive conveying through ducts, screw conveyors, and the like. After the cotton has reached the fingers 24, it is handled in the same manner throughout the balance of the machine regardless of whether it was introduced from the duct l3 or the chute I5.

The operation of the machine has been given along with the description and does not appear to need further explanation at this point. It is to be kept in mind that the air pressures exerted are created by means of the fans 32 and 36 which may be regulated in the usual fashion by speed regulation or damper regulation so as to effect the proper flow of air current into the machine and around the saw cylinder II, and to provide for the proper neutralization of the undesirable effects of each type of air current. The fans are thus balanced against one another to control the pass of the air and at the same time insure an adequate and full flow of air for cleaning purposes. It is obvious that the incoming air may be heated if desired to eifect partial or complete drying at the same time that the cotton is being cleaned.

It is to be noted that most of the air entering through the inlet duct [8 and the nozzle 29 is removed through the screened opening 38 and through the finger board 39 and that the roll of cotton and trash which accumulates in the upper right hand portion of the roll box l0 presses against the saw cylinder, against the finger board 39, and against the screened opening 38. In the event the cotton and trash accumulates to a greater extent than desirable in this portion of the machine, the partial or complete blocking of the screen opening 38 and the finger board 39 by such cotton will reduce the air force tending to urge cotton to this space and the feed to the saw cylinder will thus automatically be regulated and controlled in accordance with the capacity of said saw cylinder to handle the cotton on hand. The screened opening 38 and the finger board 39, by their positioning, thus function in a regulatory fashion to control the feed to the saw cylinder.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made,

for removing foreign matter from the surface of the foraminous cylinder.

11. A bur extractor including, a housing, a rotatable toothed cylinder in the housing, means for conveying cotton in a layer into a roll form resting on the cylinder whereby the cylinder may pick up tufts of cotton from the roll, an air nozzle directed substantially tangential to the cylinder opposite to the direction of rotation of the cylinder at a point displaced from the roll of cotton in the direction of rotation of the cylinder, an air pump for directing a stream of air through the nozzle over the tufts of cotton carried by the cylinder to remove foreign matter therefrom, a dofiing brush for dofling cotton from the cylinder after it has passed the nozzle, a suction fan, an auxiliary air suction duct leading from the suction fan to the housing adjacent the roll form of cotton on the side of the roll form away from the air nozzle, and a foraminous sheet extending across the auxiliary duct at the housing walls.

12. A bur extractor including, a housing, a rotatable toothed cylinder in the housing, means for conveying cotton in a layer into a roll form resting on the cylinder whereby the cylinder may pick up tufts of cotton from the roll, an air nozzle directed substantially tangential to the cylinder opposite to the direction'of rotation of the cylinder at a point displaced from the roll of cotton in the direction of rotation of the cylinder, an air pump for directing a stream of air through the nozzle over the tufts of cotton carried by the cylinder to remove foreign matter therefrom, a doifing brush for doling cotton from the cylinder after it has passed the nozzle, and a plurality of cotton guide fingers arranged circumferentially of the toothed cylinder in a zone displaced circumferentially of the cylinder from the roll of cotton in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the cylinder in the housing, said fingers extending at an angle-toward the periphery of said cylinder.

13. A bur extractor including, a housing, a toothed cylinder in the housing, means for de-' livering cotton to the cylinder, an air nozzle directing a stream of air tangential to the cylinder, a fan supplying air to the nozzle, and a suction fan connected to the housing at a point remote from the point of tangency between the air stream from the nozzle and the cylinder, said fan drawing air from the housing in a path extending circumferentially of the cylinder and transverse to the stream of air from the'air nozzle at a point beyond the point of tangency of said stream of air to the cylinder.

14. A bur extractor including, a housing, a toothed cylinder in the housing, means for delivering cotton to the upper portion of the cylinder, a stripper blade extending longitudinally of the cylinder and overlying and being spaced therefrom, an air nozzle directing a stream of air substantially tangential to the cylinder between the latter and the stripper blade, a fan supplying air to thenozzle, and a doffing brush for dofling cotton from thecylinder after it has passed the nozzle.

15. A bur extractor including, a housing, a rotatable toothed cylinder in the housing, means for conveying cotton into a space contiguous to the cylinder wherein the cylinder may pick up tufts of cotton, an air nozzle directed substantially tangential to the cylinder opposite to the direction of rotation of the cylinder at a point displaced from the aforesaid space in the direction of rotation of the cylinder, said nozzle being adapted to direct a stream of air over the tufts of cotton carried by the cylinder to remove foreign matter therefrom, a doffer for doffing cotton from the cylinder after it has passed the nozzle, and a fixed bur stripper blade parallel to and spaced from the surface of the toothed cylinder and lying contiguous to the stream of air flowing from the air nozzle, whereby the stream of air passes between the bur stripper blade and the surface of the toothed cylinder.

16. A bur extractor including, a housing, a rotatable toothed cylinder in the housing, a feed roller spaced from the toothed cylinder and feeding cotton into a space contiguous to the cylinder wherein the cylinder my pick up tufts of cotton, a bur stripper blade extending between the feed roller and the toothed cylinder parallel to and spaced from said roller and said cylinder, said blade having a stripper edge adjacent the surface of the cylinder, an air nozzle directed substantially tangential to the cylinder opposite to the direction of rotation of the cylinder at a point displaced in the direction of rotation of the cylinder from the stripper edge of the stripper blade, said nozzle being adapted to direct a stream of air over the tufts of cotton carried by the cylinder to remove foreign matter therefrom, a dofier for doffing cotton from the cylinder after it has passed the nozzle, said air nozzle being directed between the cylinder and the bur stripper blade.

17. A bur extractor as set forth in claim 16, wherein the stripper edge of the stripper blade is disposed substantially at the point of closest approach of the peripheries of the feed roller and the toothed cylinder.

18. A bur extractor including, a housing, a rotatable toothed cylinder in the housing, a bur stripper blade directed substantially opposite to the direction of rotation of the toothed cylinder, said blade extending parallel to the axis of the toothed cylinder and having a stripper edge disposed adjacent the surface of said cylinder, means for feeding cotton over the outer face of the blade into a space contiguous to the cylinder wherein the cylinder may pick up tufts of cotton, an air nozzle directed substantially tangential to the cylinder opposite to the direction of rotation of the cylinder at a point displaced in the direction of rotation of the cylinder from the stripper edge of the stripper blade, said nozzle being adapted to direct a stream of air over the inner face of the blade and over the tufts of cotton carried by the cylinder to remove foreign matter therefrom, and a doffer for doffing cotton from the cylinder after it has passed the nozzle, the cotton being fed over the outer face of the bur stripper blade picking up the foreign matter removed by the stripper edge of said blade as the tufts of cotton are passed thereunder, and removing said foreign matter from proximity with said stripper edge.

ALEXANDER T. MOSELEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 277,417 Forshag May 8, 1883 743,814 Boyd Nov. 10, 1903 1,022,259 Phelps Apr. 2, 1912 1,099,299 Hopper June 9, 1914 1,222,523 Cary Apr. 10, 1917 1,936,748 Benjamin Nov. 28, 1933 2,024,469 Mitchell Dec. 17, 1935 2,325,183 Hopper July 27, 1943 

